Exhibit Sponsors: Bill and Sylvia Howard | Cosponsor: Bill and Barbara Beck

Gallery Sponsors:

Members’ Preview | Saturday, January 14 | 6:30 to 8:30 pm

Preview Admission for Members is Free | Guests – $5 Admission

Gallery Admission: $5 per person | Cedarhurst Members Free (children 10 and under free) | All admission is Free each Thursday

Since 1974, Cedarhurst has hosted this national competition that we regard as critical support for a young artist’s career as they develop their talents with an eye towards further study at the university level. Cedarhurst congratulates all the young artists who were selected for the exhibition, and especially those who made artwork, but were not chosen- it is important to just enter, effort means you’re trying, and trying means one day you’ll succeed!

For the 2017 installment of The Scholastic Art Awards of Southern Illinois, junior high and high school students from eleven counties were represented. Area art teachers selected the works of art entered into the competition, choosing their students’ most ambitious efforts. This year 1,109 examples from 18 schools were submitted to a panel of three jurors. After careful examination, the judges selected 246 works for inclusion in the exhibition.

Every work of art selected for exhibition receives an Award. Silver Key and Gold Key Award recipients are identified by a sticker on the label. This year, 36 artworks were selected for Silver Key Awards and 25 artworks and 2 portfolios were presented with Gold Key Awards.

The exhibition’s most prestigious award category is the American Visions Award Nominees. The judges nominate five works of art for this category. The five American Vision Award nominees and the Gold Key Award recipients are submitted in early February for judging in the national competition. The national jurors in New York will select the American Visions Award recipient for the region from the five regional nominees.

2017 Regional Jury Panel:

Michael Behle is an Assistant Professor of Studio Arts at the University of Missouri, St. Louis and Director of the Paul Artspace in St. Louis, an artist residency program. Behle is an artist who has exhibited widely across the US, including St. Louis, Chicago, and Brooklyn, New York.

Mike Faris, PhD in Art Education has taught art at Shawnee Community College, as well as, for the past 19 years taught art at the university and high school levels. Faris is also the director of a short film on YouTube titled, “Why We Need Visual Art.” Faris is an artist and has shown his art throughout the state including Cedarhurst.

Dan Younger is Professor of Art at the University of Missouri, St. Louis where he teaches Photography, Illustration, and the History of Photography. Younger is a past Chair of the Department of Art & Art History at UMSL. Younger is a photographer who has had international exhibitions and whose photographs have been collected by the Museum de Stadt, Germany; the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; the University of Texas, Austin; the St. Louis Art Museum; and the Smithsonian.